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Lisbon, Portugal • June 6 - 8, 2019

In partnership with the Faculdade de Psicologia - Universidade de Lisboa

The Society for the Exploration of Psychotherapy Integration (SEPI) will soon issue a formal call for submissions for the 35th Annual Conference to be held in Lisbon, Portugal from Thursday, June 6, to Saturday, June 8, 2019. The conference site will be the University of Lisbon.

SEPI is an international, interdisciplinary organization of practitioners and scholars exploring the benefits of integrating ideas from multiple perspectives and promoting alternative ways of meeting the needs of our clients. SEPI also advances the integration of practice and research.

Conference Theme: Building Alliances

The therapeutic alliance is a robust predictor of outcome across theoretical orientations, and has been referred to as the “quintessential integrative variable” (Wolfe & Goldfried, 1988). The theme for the SEPI 2019 conference, Building Alliances, recognizes the centrality of the alliance in psychotherapy practice and research. Consistent with this theme, the conference will include a plenary session celebrating the legacy of Jeremy Safran, whose integrative work on alliance ruptures has made an indelible impact on the field.

However, the theme of Building Alliances is not limited to the alliance between a patient and a therapist. We seek to encourage submissions featuring many types of collaborative partnerships:

Building alliances across disciplines: SEPI was initially founded by psychologists and a majority of SEPI members are from the field of psychology. However, the world of mental health care practice and research is larger than psychology, and there is much to be gained from collaborating with practitioners and researchers from disciplines such as social work, mental health counseling, and psychiatry. We welcome submissions that feature collaborations across disciplines and/or include presenters from multiple disciplines.

Building alliances across generations: In a world that seems to change so rapidly, what can therapists and researchers from different generations learn from each other? We welcome submissions that feature intergenerational collaborations and presenters.

Building alliances across countries and cultures: In order to be effective therapists and researchers and scholars of therapy, we must explore and affirm the cultural diversity of patients and practitioners. We welcome submissions that highlight cultural factors and feature presenters from different countries and/or cultural backgrounds.

Building alliances between practitioners and researchers: To quote SEPI’s mission statement, “effective psychotherapy must be rooted in both clinical observation and empirical verification.” We welcome submissions that feature and encourage active collaboration between researchers and practitioners and provide opportunities for members of both groups to learn from each other.

Building alliances across theoretical orientations and treatment modalities: Last but certainly not least, we welcome submissions that focus on psychotherapy integration and/or collaborations across different orientations and/or treatment modalities.

The program will consist of pre-conference workshops, symposia, discussion groups, mini-workshops, individual papers, and posters. There also will be plenary panels and the SEPI president’s address.

Please put this on your calendars, and keep a look out for the call for submissions, which will include instructions for accessing the online submission portal. The deadline for submissions will be December 22, 2018.